News

August 15, 2005 — Disability Outreach: Alive at St. Matthew's Parish in Schaumburg

By Lisa Menich — Respect Life Coordinator — St. Matthew and Vicariate 1 Liaison

As parishioners filed in for mass at St. Matthew's the last weekend in June, they couldn't help but notice that something was different. As they walked through the vestibule they were greeted with signs that read "Make Us One" and once inside the sanctuary, they noticed a reserved row in the front, and later that every word and song, was being conveyed in sign language.

June 25th and 26th was the culmination of a month long campaign of St. Matthew's Respect Life Ministry that focused on different, sometimes disenfranchised, members of our community. The first week's focus was addiction, the second week, mental illness, the third week, mental disability and the last week, physical disability. Each week there was a special insert in the bulletin with information about the week's topic, a prayer and information about local organizations that give aid to people and their families and friends, who find themselves with extra needs. The hope of the Respect Life Ministry is to educate and enlighten about the special challenges and needs that others in the parish face and that through demystifying these differences, we can embrace all people as one in the Lord.

The week that mental disabilities were discussed, Deacon Tom Duszynski of St. Matthew's preached, "If there are any kinds of barriers; like attitude, communication, or even how accessible our church is — our Christian community is weakened for ALL…. God always sees each person's "wholeness of Spirit", where we might see only "brokenness of mind or body".

When it came to the week about physical disabilities, the Respect Life Ministry worked with the new Disability Outreach Partnership Ministry in the vicariate. Deacon Don Grossnickle was able to deliver the homily at every mass in which he said, "A parish and community can be inviting, or a significant turn off to persons with disabilities. What the parish does, or fails to do, says a lot about how accessible God is to all in the community. The theme for the reading today is all about hospitality. I think hospitality can be simply defined as treating others as if he or she is Jesus himself."

During Deacon Don's homily two members of the Disability Outreach Partnership ministry briefly spoke. Jenny Meszaros, who was born with Cerebral Palsy and uses her "chariot" to get around, passionately spoke about how each and every person is called by Christ, not just those without disabilities. She said, "The disability community is called too, to spread the Good News." Claudia Glenn, who recently became deaf, spoke about how she is being called to serve the disenfranchised. She also talked about how it may take a little extra time and effort to communicate with someone with a disability but each and every person has something to offer "as we build the Kingdom of God".

After mass, parishioners were invited to talk to the guests, and were greeted with a table filled with information about all the topics discussed over the month and local organizations that can help. Two children of members of Respect Life Ministry handed out coloring pages to the kids that included children with disabilities.

The people of St. Matthew's are changed. They were given the opportunity to hear the powerful message of God's unending love. We continue to pray,
"Lord, Make Us One."

December 29, 2004 — Statement of Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I.

RE: Appointment of Bishop Jerome E. Listecki as Bishop of LaCrosse, WI

Pope John Paul II has appointed Bishop Jerome E. Listecki as Bishop of LaCrosse, WI. Bishop Listecki, who has served the past four years as an auxiliary Bishop of Chicago and as my Vicar in the northern vicariate of the Archdiocese, is a faithful and faith-filled man whose presence and ministry enriched our lives.

I congratulate him but, even more, I congratulate the priests and religious and lay people of the Diocese of LaCrosse. In Bishop Listecki, they will find a careful teacher, a zealous pastor, a shepherd after Christ’s own heart. Bishop Listecki is well respected by the U. S. Bishops, who elected him to the chairmanship of the pastoral practices committee. He is obviously well respected by the Holy Father, who now entrusts him with the spiritual welfare of a diocese. He is respected and loved by all those he served here in the Archdiocese and as chaplain in the armed services of our country. I will personally miss not only his creative ideas and wise counsel but, even more, his warm friendship. He belongs now to Lacrosse, but Chicago will always be proud of him.

December 3, 2000 — Pope's Message of Challenge and Hope

ROME (CNS) — Pope John Paul II celebrated a jubilee Mass with thousands of disabled, and told them they deserved not just assistance but love, respect and social acceptance.

"Through your presence, you reaffirm that a disability represents not only a need, but above all a stimulus and a challenge" to a society that often
prizes "gratification, appearances, speed and efficiency," the pope said Dec. 3, 2000.

"In a society rich in scientific and technical knowledge, it is possible and necessary to do more ... in biomedical research to prevent disabilities, in treatment, in assistance, in rehabilitation and in social re-integration," he said.

He said the disabled require not just care, but respect and appreciation through all stages of their lives. Their very presence is a "provocation to the individual and collective selfishness" that exists in developed countries, he said.

The pope received loud applause when he said the church appreciates the difficult chapters in the lives of the disabled, particularly when they become adults and must move toward some form of independence — a moment, the pope said, which is "faced with trepidation by many parents."

But the trials of the disabled have a deeper meaning for society as a whole, especially as a reminder that all people are, in a sense, waiting for a "liberation" from the suffering of this life, he said.

Please read the Bishop's statement on people with disabilities.